Roundup of the third round of 2023 F2 season Down Under in Melbourne, Australia.
This round marked F2’s first-ever visit Down Under and it certainly delivered with a round which had lot of incidents, weather challenges and produced a clearer picture of the title contenders this season.
Now, here is a full roundup of all the action in Melbourne, Australia.
Practice
Home favourite, Jack Doohan was first out on track but it would be Carlin’s Enzo Fittipaldi who set the early benchmark time of 1m 45.877 in the eighth minute, but was quickly displaced by Victor Martins by 0.602 seconds but Doohan went even quicker with 1m 32.296 to go top.
The Australian Alpine junior though was swiftly displaced by DAMS’ Ayumu Iwasa and Martins but regained the fastest lap in the 11th minute, with 1m 31.487 which wasn’t beaten as the red flag came out two minutes later after Roy Nissany spun at the final corner.
Doohan though was again first out of the blocks once the session resumed in the 25th minute and immediately lowered his benchmark time to 1m 31.140, which Hitech GP’s Jak Crawford and Isack Hadjar both beat as the latter went top with 1m 30.749 in the 28th minute.
The red flags though were back out a minute later after MP Motorsport’s Jehan Daruvala spun at the final corner, luckily stopping on the inside kerb which meant the session quickly resumed in the 34th minute after his car had been pushed into the pit lane.
Doohan again was first back out onto the circuit and immediately posted 1m 30.132 to lay down another benchmark time, which he then beat with 1m 29.238 in the 40th minute only to eventually top the session with 1m 28.989.
Hadjar, Martins, Crawford and Fittipaldi eventually rounded out the top five.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | 1m 28.989 |
| 2 | Isack Hadjar | Hitech GP | + 0.313 |
| 3 | Victor Martins | ART GP | + 0.323 |
| 4 | Jak Crawford | Hitech GP | + 0.390 |
| 5 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Carlin | + 0.476 |
| 6 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | + 0.573 |
| 7 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | + 0.596 |
| 8 | Zane Maloney | Carlin | + 0.669 |
| 9 | Richard Verschoor | VAR | + 0.702 |
| 10 | Ralph Boschung | Campos | + 0.969 |
| 11 | Kush Maini | Campos | + 1.046 |
| 12 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | + 1.242 |
| 13 | Roman Stanek | Trident | + 1.248 |
| 14 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | + 1.279 |
| 15 | Arthur Leclerc | DAMS | + 1.344 |
| 16 | Amaury Cordeel | Virtuosi | + 1.358 |
| 17 | Frederik Vesti | PREMA | + 1.632 |
| 18 | Juan Manuel Correa | VAR | + 2.065 |
| 19 | Brad Benavides | PHM Racing | + 2.194 |
| 20 | Clement Novalak | Trident | + 2.443 |
| 21 | Roy Nissany | PHM Racing | + 5.107 |
| 22 | Jehan Daruvala | MP Motorsport | + 11.694 |
Qualifying
Rainfall from F1’s second Friday Practice session lingered for the start of F2’s qualifying session as Doohan led the field out onto track, but the conditions meant that drivers were aquaplaning, in-turn causing the session to be red flagged just five minutes in after Bearman, Crawford and Leclerc all spun.
The session resumed 16 minutes later with Doohan once again first out on track and he set the initial benchmark time of 1m 52.238 in the ninth minute, which was bettered by several drivers as Hadjar then Vesti went fastest.
Doohan on his next flier posted 1m 49.340 to go top but was displaced by Hadjar as the track began to evolve towards dry conditions, with Maloney then Stanek going top before Doohan delivered 1m 47.721 to go top in the 13th minute.
Hauger swiftly displaced Doohan moments later with 1m 47.488 but Doohan and Iwasa quickly responded with faster laps as the lap times kept tumbling, with Iwasa on top with 13 minutes left from Crawford and Hauger.
Martins in the 17th minute posted 1m 45.736 to go fastest but Iwasa ten minutes later posted 1m 45.188 to claim his third pole position in F2, which was confirmed a minute later after Martins crashed at the exit of Turn 6, with two minutes and 58 seconds left on the clock.
Stewards ultimately opted to not resume the session due to darkness almost setting in across Melbourne, which ensured that Iwasa claimed pole for the Feature Race ahead of Pourchaire, Martins, Hadjar, Maloney, Bearman, Maini, Crawford and Hauger.
Hauger though secured reverse-pole for the Sprint whilst Hadjar was set to start seventh but was dropped to 10th on the grid, after picking up a three-place grid penalty for impeding Stanek at Turns 11 and 13 respectively.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | 1m 45.118 |
| 2 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | + 0.614 |
| 3 | Victor Martins | ART GP | + 0.618 |
| 4 | Isack Hadjar | Hitech GP | + 0.919 |
| 5 | Zane Maloney | Carlin | + 0.927 |
| 6 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | + 0.940 |
| 7 | Arthur Leclerc | DAMS | + 1.191 |
| 8 | Kush Maini | Campos | + 1.412 |
| 9 | Jak Crawford | Hitech GP | + 1.569 |
| 10 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | + 1.619 |
| 11 | Ralph Boschung | Campos | + 1.741 |
| 12 | Jehan Daruvala | MP Motorsport | + 1.778 |
| 13 | Frederik Vesti | PREMA | + 1.781 |
| 14 | Roy Nissany | PHM Racing | + 2.076 |
| 15 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | + 2.148 |
| 16 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Carlin | + 2.149 |
| 17 | Roman Stanek | Trident | + 2.352 |
| 18 | Richard Verschoor | VAR | + 2.415 |
| 19 | Clement Novalak | Trident | + 2.460 |
| 20 | Juan Manuel Correa | VAR | + 2.871 |
| 21 | Amaury Cordeel | Virtuosi | + 3.080 |
| 22 | Brad Benavides | PHM Racing | + 5.004 |
Sprint Race
The grid lined up minus two drivers as Fittipaldi and Boschung both spun out on their way to the grid, which caused the start to be delayed five minutes whilst debris was cleared up and both cars removed from the track.
Once the lights went green, Hauger bravely fought off Crawford to keep his lead with Maini sat third ahead of a fast-starting Bearman, although the Brit was soon displaced by Leclerc, Martins and Maloney by the end of Lap 4 and Maloney got past Martins on Lap 12 for fifth place.
Up front, Hauger fought off Crawford’s advances all race-long whilst Leclerc briefly passed Maini on Lap 7 for third into Turn 9, yet the Indian got back through at Turn 11 and defended his position to the checkered flag.
Home favourite, Doohan meanwhile got spun out on Lap 14, just two laps after he had been warned about impendng rain, which led some drivers to gamble on wet tyres whilst others opted to stay out on their slick medium or soft tyre selections.
The Safety Car also was deployed but just as it was set to return to the pit lane on Lap 18, Brad Benavides crashed at Turn 13, which necessitated a recovery truck in the run-off area whilst the Safety Car continued for two further laps.
Hauger nevertheless clung on for victory from Crawford and Maini, as Leclerc, Maloney, Hadjar, Bearman and Vesti rounded out the top eight points-scoring positions, whilst Hauger claimed the bonus point for fastest lap.
Boschung though continued to lead the championship after Iwasa, Pourchaire, Vesti and Daruvala all failed to take advantage of his absence, in order to take control of the drivers’ standings, whilst Hauger leapt up to fourth and three points off the summit.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | 22 | 40m 03.429 |
| 2 | Jak Crawford | Hitech GP | 22 | + 1.120 |
| 3 | Kush Maini | Campos | 22 | + 1.716 |
| 4 | Arthur Leclerc | DAMS | 22 | + 2.064 |
| 5 | Zane Maloney | Carlin | 22 | + 2.447 |
| 6 | Isack Hadjar | Hitech GP | 22 | + 2.842 |
| 7 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | 22 | + 4.858 |
| 8 | Frederik Vesti | PREMA | 22 | + 5.299 |
| 9 | Roy Nissany | PHM Racing | 22 | + 5.591 |
| 10 | Richard Verschoor | VAR | 22 | + 5.759 |
| 11 | Clement Novalak | Trident | 22 | + 6.417 |
| 12 | Amaury Cordeel | Virtuosi | 22 | + 11.851 |
| 13 | Ayumu Iwasa | Ayumu Iwasa | 22 | + 12.395 |
| 14 | Juan Manuel Correa | VAR | 22 | + 16.816 |
| 15 | Victor Martins | ART GP | 22 | + 36.640 |
| 16 | Roman Stanek | Trident | 22 | + 37.222 |
| 17 | Jehan Daruvala | MP Motorsport | 22 | + 41.076 |
| 18 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | 20 | Spin |
| RET | Brad Benavides | PHM Racing | 16 | Spin |
| RET | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | 13 | Collision |
| DNS | Ralph Boschung | Campos | 0 | Spin |
| DNS | Enzo Fittipaldi | Carlin | 0 | Spin |
Feature Race
At lights out, Iwasa made a clean start to seize the lead as Martins swept past Pourchaire into Turn 1 on the outside line, but Martins lost grip as he clipped the astroturf which allowed Pourchaire to reclaim second as the top four on the grid held position.
Bearman meanwhile forced Maloney wide to seize fifth on the opening lap which earned him a five second time penalty, whilst Vesti had improved to tenth which became ninth on Lap 5 with an overtake on Crawford.
Crawford’s race ended two laps later after he was squeezed into the barriers at Turn 11 by Doohan who had made an inside move into the corner, which caused the Safety Car to be deployed a lap later after Martins pitted from third for the medium tyre.
Iwasa, Pourchaire, Hadjar and Bearman followed suit a lap later with Iwasa rejoining in sixth whilst Pourchaire rejoined in eighth ahead of Hadjar and Bearman who leapfrogged Martins, although Hadjar had punctured Bearman’s right rear tyre as he exited his pit box.
Bearman consequently pitted again to put the medium tyres back on whilst Doohan who had started on mediums, opted to do a double pit stop to get rid of the soft tyres under the Safety Car.
Racing resumed on Lap 13 with Vesti in the lead from Nissany and Fittipaldi who ran each other close through Turn 9 into Turn 10 a lap later, which opened up a gap for Maini to breeze through with Iwasa following him through into second and third respectively.
Nissany then forced Hadjar wide at Turn 13 to ruin any prospects of a podium finish for the rookie, whilst Hauger quietly climbed to seventh on Lap 15 with a double overtake on Martins and Cordeel.
Pourchaire then cleared Fittipaldi at Turn 11 on Lap 16 to put himself in the fight with Iwasa for the win, before he then cleared Maini for third on Lap 21 after Iwasa passed the Indian for second on Lap 20 with a long lunge into Turn 11.
Vesti meanwhile continued to lead on medium tyres in hope of a well-timed Safety Car which came on Lap 26, after Nissany spun into the barriers out of Turn 2 on cold tyres but Vesti re-joined in seventh after making his stop at end of that lap and running wide at Turn 1.
Fittipaldi also made his stop and spun across the first two corners before his left-rear suspension failed as he re-joined, which caused him have another spin towards Turn 3 in which he narrowly avoided smashing uncontrollably into Fittipaldi’s PHM Racing car.
Racing resumed on Lap 31 as Vesti quickly climbed to fourth but he wasn’t able to make further progress as Iwasa became the first driver to win two races this season, with Pourchaire and Leclerc rounding out the podium.
Maloney, Daruvala, Verschoor, Doohan, Maini and Stanek rounded out the top ten once a five-second time penalty was applied to eighth-placed Hadjar for unsafely rejoining the track after he tangled with Nissany at Turn 13 on Lap 14 and the Frenchman dropped to 17th in classification.
Iwasa’s win now means that he leads the championship ahead of Pourchaire with 58 points to the Frenchman’s 50 points, as Vesti sits third ahead of Boschung and Leclerc who are both locked on 33 points apiece.
F2 will be back in action across 28-30 April in Baku, Azerbaijan, as the European leg of the season commences.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | 33 | 1h 0m 30.247s |
| 2 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | 33 | + 0.882 |
| 3 | Arthur Leclerc | DAMS | 33 | + 1.484 |
| 4 | Frederik Vesti | PREMA | 33 | + 1.815 |
| 5 | Zane Maloney | Carlin | 33 | + 5.290 |
| 6 | Jehan Daruvala | MP Motorsport | 33 | + 6.779 |
| 7 | Richard Verschoor | VAR | 33 | + 7.107 |
| 8 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | 33 | + 7.764 |
| 9 | Kush Maini | Campos | 33 | + 8.294 |
| 10 | Roman Stanek | Trident | 33 | + 10.892 |
| 11 | Juan Manuel Correa | VAR | 33 | + 11.126 |
| 12 | Clement Novalak | Trident | 33 | + 11.593 |
| 13 | Brad Benavides | PHM Racing | 33 | + 13.902 |
| 14 | Amaury Cordeel | Virtuosi | 33 | + 14.276 |
| 15 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | 33 | + 16.734 |
| 16 | Victor Martins | ART GP | 33 | + 17.299 |
| 17 | Isack Hadjar | Hitech GP | 33 | + 17.437 |
| 18 | Ralph Boschung | Campos | 33 | + 24.029 |
| 19 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | 30 | Damage |
| RET | Enzo Fittipaldi | Carlin | 26 | Spin |
| RET | Roy Nissany | PHM Racing | 25 | Spin |
| RET | Jak Crawford | Hitech GP | 6 | Collision |
Leave a Reply